Alcohol available for consumption statistics provide information on the volume of alcoholic beverages (beer, wine, spirits, and spirit-based drinks) available for consumption in New Zealand.
Key facts
All comparisons are between the year ended December 2023 and the year ended December 2022, except where otherwise stated.
The total volume of alcoholic beverages available for consumption was down 4.3 percent to 477 million litres:
- The volume of beer fell 4.4 percent to 281 million litres.
- The volume of wine fell 2.4 percent to 99 million litres.
- The volume of spirits (including spirit-based drinks) fell 5.7 percent to 97 million litres.
- The equivalent total volume of pure alcohol in all alcoholic beverages for consumption fell 3.0 percent.
- The volume of available alcohol, expressed in terms of the number of equivalent standard drinks per person aged 18 years and over, was down 5.3 percent to 1.86 per person per day.
Volume of alcoholic beverages falls
The total volume of alcoholic beverages available for consumption was down 4.3 percent to 477 million litres. This follows a fall of 0.3 percent in 2022, and a rise of 0.9 percent in 2021.
As a proportion of the total volume of alcoholic beverages available for consumption, between 2009 and 2023:
- beer decreased from 65 percent to 59 percent
- wine was unchanged at 20 percent
- spirits and spirit-based drinks increased from 15 percent to 20 percent.
| Year | Spirits | Wine | Beer |
| 2009 | 69632342 | 95295093 | 306181417 |
| 2010 | 72077476 | 102613953 | 299347969 |
| 2011 | 74737369 | 97888184 | 299793983 |
| 2012 | 74891166 | 102218198 | 279934321 |
| 2013 | 71167286 | 105926341 | 288810995 |
| 2014 | 66681360 | 107568057 | 282290457 |
| 2015 | 68652006 | 103971664 | 281974795 |
| 2016 | 72589307 | 108897661 | 292411531 |
| 2017 | 76545179 | 110569396 | 288996613 |
| 2018 | 80319226 | 109075619 | 293011579 |
| 2019 | 84818537 | 108262585 | 297723781 |
| 2020 | 89329153 | 112889843 | 292704423 |
| 2021 | 99785841 | 107342714 | 292136010 |
| 2022 | 103021340 | 101035294 | 293711940 |
| 2023 | 97135057 | 98645543 | 280819852 |
Beer volume down 4.4 percent
The total volume of beer available for consumption fell 4.4 percent to 281 million litres in 2023. This follows a rise of 0.5 percent in 2022, and a fall of 0.2 percent in 2021.
The changes in volume in each of the four categories of beer, according to alcoholic content were:
- up to 2.5 percent alcohol - fell 5.7 percent, to 6.5 million litres
- between 2.5 and 4.35 percent - fell 6.0 percent, to 71 million litres
- between 4.35 and 5 percent - fell 3.9 percent, to 170 million litres
- above 5 percent - fell 3.2 percent, to 33 million litres.
Of the total volume of beer available for consumption in 2023, 85 percent was produced in New Zealand and 15 percent was imported.
In addition to the volume of beer produced in New Zealand that is available for local consumption, a total of 19 million litres of beer were exported in 2023.
| Year | Up to 2.5% | 2.5 - 4.35% | 4.35 - 5% | Over 5% |
| 2009 | 3042653 | 192503317 | 103668817 | 6966630 |
| 2010 | 2978896 | 176058502 | 111543143 | 8767429 |
| 2011 | 2984089 | 172188337 | 115665676 | 8955880 |
| 2012 | 2339464 | 157048257 | 106078711 | 14467889 |
| 2013 | 3364087 | 155860752 | 116720213 | 12865944 |
| 2014 | 5600779 | 144311862 | 118805665 | 13572151 |
| 2015 | 9556111 | 134963356 | 118756553 | 18698775 |
| 2016 | 9221825 | 135027772 | 126302525 | 21859410 |
| 2017 | 7857950 | 120536185 | 131407733 | 29194745 |
| 2018 | 7374904 | 111780688 | 138585625 | 35270361 |
| 2019 | 6836478 | 115581228 | 136251843 | 39054232 |
| 2020 | 6280284 | 114186522 | 126928994 | 45308624 |
| 2021 | 7851275 | 96102031 | 140746634 | 47436070 |
| 2022 | 6904238 | 75832542 | 177267093 | 33708067 |
| 2023 | 6509977 | 71319884 | 170368471 | 32621519 |
Wine volume down 2.4 percent
The total volume of wine available for consumption in 2023 fell 2.4 percent to 99 million litres. This follows a fall of 5.9 percent in 2022, and a fall of 4.9 percent in 2021.
Of the main categories of wine:
- total table wine (wine with an alcohol content up to 14 percent), fell 2.3 percent to 98 million litres
- fortified wine (wine with an alcohol content greater than 14 percent) fell 12 percent to 448,000 litres, following a 17 percent fall in 2022
- wine made from grapes fell 2.7 percent to 82 million litres
- wine made from other fruit and vegetables, or flavoured with other aromatic substances, fell 0.9 percent to 17 million litres.
Of the total volume of wine available for consumption in 2023, 73 percent was produced in New Zealand and 27 percent was imported.
In addition to the volume of wine produced in New Zealand that is available for local consumption, a total of 184 million litres of wine was exported in 2023.
| Year | Wine from grapes | Wine from other fruits and vegetables |
| 2009 | 89857825 | 5437267 |
| 2010 | 95367309.53 | 7246643.858 |
| 2011 | 89894580.19 | 7993603.876 |
| 2012 | 91771123.21 | 10447074.43 |
| 2013 | 90264093.05 | 15662247.64 |
| 2014 | 93684924.26 | 13883132.52 |
| 2015 | 89476654.13 | 14495009.93 |
| 2016 | 94047123.64 | 14850536.85 |
| 2017 | 94504969.58 | 16064426.67 |
| 2018 | 92056683 | 17018945.87 |
| 2019 | 89614196.89 | 18648388.07 |
| 2020 | 93937061.17 | 18952782.01 |
| 2021 | 88979962.6 | 18362751.72 |
| 2022 | 84148224.05 | 16887070.22 |
| 2023 | 81916888.78 | 16728653.82 |
Volume of spirits and spirit-based drinks down 5.7 percent
The total volume of spirits and spirit-based drinks available for consumption in 2023 fell 5.7 percent from 2022, to 97 million litres, following rises of 3.2 percent in 2022, and 12 percent in 2021.
The changes by volume of the two categories were:
- spirit-based drinks (containing up to 23 percent alcohol, such as ready-to-drink beverages (RTDs)), down 7.0 percent to 81 million litres
- spirits (containing more than 23 percent alcohol, such as vodka, gin, and whisky), up 1.4 percent to 16 million litres.
The volume of spirit-based drinks fell after rising for eight consecutive years; the volume of spirits rose for the eighth year in a row.
| Year | Spirits | Spirit-based drinks |
| 2009 | 10497758 | 59134582 |
| 2010 | 12592337 | 59485140 |
| 2011 | 12809325 | 61928044 |
| 2012 | 12885411 | 62005755 |
| 2013 | 13019559 | 58147726 |
| 2014 | 12785423 | 53895937 |
| 2015 | 12311721 | 56340285 |
| 2016 | 13263982 | 59325325 |
| 2017 | 13430789 | 63114390 |
| 2018 | 14164087 | 66155140 |
| 2019 | 14840775 | 69977762 |
| 2020 | 15555628 | 73773525 |
| 2021 | 15927598 | 83858244 |
| 2022 | 15992205 | 87029135 |
| 2023 | 16208305 | 80926752 |
Volume of pure alcohol falls 3.0 percent
The total volume of pure alcohol is a measure of the equivalent amount of alcohol in all alcoholic beverages available for consumption, after taking account of the different alcoholic contents of the various categories of beer, wine, and spirits.
The total volume of pure alcohol in alcoholic beverages available for consumption fell 3.0 percent. This followed a 0.7 percent fall in 2022 and a 0.8 percent rise in 2021.
Of the main categories of alcoholic beverage, the total volume of pure alcohol in:
- beer fell 4.3 percent
- wine fell 2.3 percent
- spirits (including spirit-based drinks) fell 2.0 percent
- spirits (with more than 23 percent alcohol content) rose 1.4 percent
- spirit-based drinks (with not more than 23 percent alcohol content) fell 6.1 percent.
The proportions of pure alcohol in the various alcoholic beverages available for consumption have changed over time.
Between 2009 and 2023, the proportion available from:
- beer decreased from 41 percent to 36 percent
- wine decreased from 33 percent to 29 percent
- spirits (including spirit-based drinks) increased from 26 percent to 35 percent.
| Year | Beer | Wine | Spirits |
| 2009 | 40.94 | 33.23 | 25.83 |
| 2010 | 38.2 | 33.9 | 27.9 |
| 2011 | 38.63 | 32.15 | 29.22 |
| 2012 | 36.91 | 33.05 | 30.03 |
| 2013 | 37.79 | 33.15 | 29.06 |
| 2014 | 37.03 | 35.14 | 27.83 |
| 2015 | 37.73 | 33.81 | 28.46 |
| 2016 | 37.42 | 33.68 | 28.9 |
| 2017 | 36.91 | 33.62 | 29.47 |
| 2018 | 37.14 | 32.53 | 30.32 |
| 2019 | 37.22 | 31.61 | 31.17 |
| 2020 | 35.98 | 32.41 | 31.61 |
| 2021 | 35.83 | 30.75 | 33.43 |
| 2022 | 36.59 | 29.2 | 34.22 |
| 2023 | 36.08 | 29.38 | 34.54 |
Decrease in standard drinks available per person
The total volume of pure alcohol in alcoholic beverages available for consumption can be expressed in terms of the number of standard drinks available on a per-capita basis.
A standard drink contains 10 grams of alcohol.
In 2023, the average number of standard drinks available per person was:
- 1.86 standard drinks a day (per person aged 18+), down 5.3 percent from 2022, following a 1.0 percent fall in 2021
- 1.77 standard drinks a day (per person aged 15+), down 5.4 percent from 2022, following a 1.1 percent fall in 2021.
| Year | Number |
| 2009 | 2.12 |
| 2010 | 2.20 |
| 2011 | 2.16 |
| 2012 | 2.10 |
| 2013 | 2.10 |
| 2014 | 2.07 |
| 2015 | 1.97 |
| 2016 | 2.02 |
| 2017 | 2.00 |
| 2018 | 1.99 |
| 2019 | 1.98 |
| 2020 | 1.98 |
| 2021 | 1.98 |
| 2022 | 1.96 |
| 2023 | 1.86 |
In 2023, the volume of alcohol available per person aged 18 years and over (as measured by the number of standard drinks), continued to fall as it has for the past eight years.
Access data in Infoshare
Use Infoshare to view and download time-series data for alcohol available for consumption:
Subject category: Industry sectors
Group: Alcohol available for consumption - ALC
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Definitions and metadata
Alcohol available for consumption - DataInfo+ provides the general methodology used to produce statistics about alcohol available for consumption, and related metadata.
Alcohol available for consumption concepts - DataInfo+ provides definitions of terms used in this release.
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Next release
Alcohol available for consumption: March 2024 quarter will be released on 23 May 2024.
